Pressing the Starter Button Again

This is how the Beemer looked early Thursday morning after opening the garage door.  Just a trace of morning light was glancing off the side.  Not having its starter button pressed in almost a week it seemed to have a cold and lonely look.

I was leaving the house for the 170 mile trip to Roseburg but with the temperature at 39 (F), the starter button wouldn't be pressed that morning either.  I'm not opposed to riding in 39 degree weather but to sustain that for 3 hours is beyond my scope of what I call enjoyable riding.

We've had cold, wet, and windy weather for most of the week but Thursday turned out to be a nice day. Of course, that's the day I didn't ride. Yesterday the rain and wind came back until this afternoon.

Some might remember from a previous post in which I wrote about a Saturday afternoon ritual I have of making a yogurt run.  We like the yogurt but I really like the excuse to ride on Saturday afternoons and not be concerned about the weather.  This afternoon I pressed the starter button again and reconnected with my machine.

It was great to get out on the road again; to hold on to the handle bars and feel the pull of the engine.  And it's always fun to stop and take some photos along the way.  I took the long way home on some backroads.  I couldn't go too far though because the yogurt had to get home. Next time I go a week without riding I'll have to remember to ride first then get the yogurt.

I hope you've been pressing your starter button these days.

I wish you and your family a blessed Easter!

A Fast Food Day

 

This morning I met a couple of fellow jail volunteers at McDonalds for breakfast. The three of us try to get together once a month for breakfast and we did that last Saturday. But this morning we had an official bi-monthly meeting at 9 am so we met at 8 am for breakfast.

On the months when we don't have a meeting we usually go to a coffee shop. We get to talking and drinking coffee and lose track of time. Before we know it we've been there 1-1/2 hours and we start feeling guilty about hogging the table.

So we go outside and finish solving the world's problems. We thought we would try McDonalds for a couple of reasons - we don't have to tip (we're sort of cheap) and we can stay as long as we want.

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I have to confess that I have a Saturday afternoon ritual that I've been doing for the better part of a year. If nothing else it's a good reason to go for an errand on the bike.

 

Amber and I have been hooked on TCBY yogurt for many years. In fact, we probably qualify to be part owners of this store. Hey wait, that also applies to the local Home Depot. Anyway, this store is owned by a really nice Korean family. They're the sweetest family and they have all of their teenage kids helping them. We've developed kind of a familiarity with one another but not a friendship; I think because of the language barrier with the parents. They're all extremely polite.

Almost every Saturday afternoon between 3-4 pm I ride to the store. I walk in with all my gear on and my helmet flipped up. I walk over to the reach-in freezer and get two pint tubs of non-fat dutch chocolate yogurt. As I'm doing this, whoever is behind the counter automatically gets the bag ready and starts ringing up the sale. It's all choreographed so well with very little change from one week to the next.

When one of their teenage daughters is working she'll usually giggle at some point. Not the kind of giggle that's offensive just a cute giggle. As I left this afternoon I couldn't help but wonder if they have a name for me in Korean. You know, a name for, "Tall guy on a motorcycle who comes in every Saturday and gets two pints of non-fat dutch chocolate".

Well I'd better wrap this up and get started on the yogurt.